Retreat!!

For my first few days back to Africa I was blessed to attend the Africa Area missionary retreat.  The 30 or so active missionaries gathered from across the continent of Africa in Nelspruit, South Africa for a long weekend of fellowship, rest, and spiritual renewal.  Some of these missionaries were people who I have only met through email.  Almost all of them were strangers to me. But as the weekend ended I knew I was leaving having gained a whole new family. 

Our weekend was structured so that our mornings and evenings were spent in various sessions.  We were blessed to have three pastors from North Carolina come to minister to us and lead us deeper into our love of God and renew our vibrancy for ministry.  (Pastors Brian Matherlee, Phil Harrington and Doug Dennis) We also had times of discussion revolving around the book “When Helping Hurts” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert which helped to enhance our perspectives of practical missions. (This is a book I highly recommend for anyone involved in missions on any level and no matter your age!)

Our afternoons were free to do what we liked, and I had two very notable afternoons.  One was spent exploring Kruger National Park.  This is a large (Rhode Island sized) section of South Africa which is protected from development for the sake of wildlife preservation.  It was the most untouched and natural part of Africa I’ve ever been in, and was truly an experience as we drove around for three hours searching for any animals we might see!  I added a few animals to my life list including Impala, Kudu, and Mongoose.  We also saw Elephants, Zebra, and Warthogs. 

The second notable afternoon was a group trip to the Shangana Cultural Village.  The Shangana is a specific tribe in South Africa, and this village has opened itself to the public for education and entertainment. After a tour of the village we spent the evening being entertained by a performance of dance and singing which depicted the history of this tribe beginning about 1200 years ago.  At intermission we were served a cultural meal of porridge, chicken stew, pumpkin and much more.  During the performance I was pulled from my seat twice by the dancers to join them in their dance! Several of us white folk (most of us Wesleyans!) had a good time pretending to dance J

Impala

Beautiful scenery!

This guy gave us quite the show!

Playing Games

The whole group!

The chief was looking for a new wife... our leaders had fun bartering cows with him for the few of us ladies who were single :) 

What a fun experience!

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